Happy Little Stampers - August Clean & Simple Challenge

Welcome to this month's Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge.  This month our theme is Flower.  Its a great theme, don't forget to keep your card Clean and Simple, and don't forget there is a prize of $20 to spend in the HLS shop!



I have used a Simon Says die to cut a flower from white card, re-positioning three times.  IRL the under layer shows through quite strongly.  The sentiment is Clarity.

Happy Little Stampers July Clean & Simple Challenge

Welcome to this month's Happy Little Stampers Clean & Simple Challenge.  Our theme this month is Happy Birthday - I do hope you'll play along. There is a $20 coupon up for grabs for the winner.

My card is CAS but my white space is not white!  I have used a dotty blue cardstock and added a popped up layer with a die cut star, some twine and a sentiment from the HLS Mix Mash set, stamped in SU Bashful Blue.  I have seen similar cards on Pinterest and adapted the idea.

 

Happy Little Stampers - CAS Challenge June

This month at Happy Little Stampers our CAS challenge's theme is rain.  I've made a kraft card coloured with Inktense pencils and some Glossy Accetns on my raindrops.  The cute House Mouse is a long discontinued Joanna Sheen stamp and I've added a SU sentiment.  Do join us at HLS this month :), there are some brilliant cards to inspire you from the Design Team.

Shadow

This week's Less is More theme is 'Shadow'.  I'm trying to use up all the odds and sods on my craft table and made a masculine card using an embossed square from a We R Memory Keepers geometric folder that has been there for a while.  I love the depth and interest on this but have struggled to use it for a card... until now.

I've simply added one of my favourite diecuts from Mama Elephant, in kraft shadowed in black.  The sentiment is from the matching stamp set and I've kept to a restricted palette of black, white and kraft.  What do you think?

I'm also entering Simon Says anything goes.

Stripe - check

This week at Less is More the challenge is Stripe.  I got out an old favourite set from Technique Tuesday for my card stamping them a couple of times, I love the zebras.  Monochrome with  a touch of red is another favourite and I added some strip washi tape for good measure but still leaving plenty of white space.
Still battling with new (and newly repaired) laptop here, hence the lack of watermark, guess I will be faffing about with it again at the weekend...
I'm also entering my card for Simon Says anything goes.

Spring Walk

Less is More's theme this week is spring walk and while we did have pretty good weather for Easter I got caught in a sudden shower on Sunday afternoon on my walk.  This is another card using the Beautiful You set, coloured with Distress Inks (Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio for the rain) and SU inks (Flirty Flamingo, Hello Honey, Pear Pizazz).  The rain uses a TCW stencil.

My card is for
Less is More - spring walk
CAS on Sunday - use a stencil
Simon Says - spring colour inspiration

Birthday Girl

I made this card, using the SU Beautiful You set, for a sketch challenge - but missed the deadline.  I love the look of the layout and plan to use it again.  She is simply coloured with Copics. I'm entering it for Simon Says Happy Birthday and wishing all at Simon Says a very happy eighth birthday.

Curvy

This week the Less is More Challenge is Curve; it's also one layer week.  I've used Card-Io stamps (cherry blossom) with an SU sentiment and some Perfect Pearls.

Framed Kraft

I've a second framed card to share, this time Inktense coloured on kraft, which is pretty much my favourite way to colour at present.  The SU Beautiful You image has been sitting on my desk for a few weeks and the white frame worked well, I like the way she is pushing the skewed frame.  No sentiment at present, that can wait until the card is going to be sent.
Less is More - use a frame
Simon Says - anything goes

Bird frame

Less is More asks us to use a frame this week.  For me, this card has plenty of what I love.  It is very CAS, it has a Light Sussex chicken (just like my ladies), a fun sentiment and a hand doodled frame.  SU image coloured with Copics.  Hope you love this as much as I do :)

I'm also entering Simon Says Anything goes and Simon Says Monday Things with wings.

Spring leaves

 A couple of one layer cards for Less is More - last minute as my nice new laptop is not behaving and I've had to dig out the geriatric one that happily still functions at its own pace (me too).  First up uses SU Simply Sketched on kraft with Inktense pencils to colour.  The stamp is Lily of the Valley and yes I know it is upside down!  As I like plants to be 'grounded', it didn't work to have it growing right ways up.  So in this case, it has become a trailing shrub.

My second card is all embossed.  The bird and branch are both Card-Io, some gel pen highlights the branches.  Sentiment is Visible Image.  Not so happy with this card, may try it again without the embossing.

I'm also entering CAS-ology's Foliage challenge.

Teal

 This week's Less is More Challenge is to use mostly teal.  I LOVE teal :)  as you can see from my shiny new kitchen - the splashbacks are very Marmite - and yes, I love them!

I decided to break into a prized piece of paper for the challenge, created on a hot day last summer with the lovely Wendy Gale, who used to own Stamp Attic.  We started with a piece of tissue paper, approx. A4, adding Paper Artsy Fresco paints, stencilling and a bit of stamping. I loved the effect, but have been reluctant to use it, it has been sitting on my desk and just getting the occasional stroke...

 

I cut a strip that has mostly teal, then decided to tear the edges as I preferred it.  Added SU Swirly Bird diescuts and Mama Elephant sentiment (stamped and die cut) to my tent fold card.  Now I've broken into my beloved paper, perhaps I should use some more...  what do you think?

Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge

This month our CAS Challenge at Happy Little Stampers is to use diecuts.  I've added a Memory Box skyline diecut to some watercolour paper that I painted with Brushos at last year's HLS retreat.  I think it looks like one of those stunning winter sunsets you get from time to time.  The sentiment and chevrons are from the Mix Mash stamp set from HLS.

Alphabet

I'm still struggling to get creative; to make this I reached for a couple of elements that have been sitting in a box for a while.  The Poppystamps diecut stem was cut from some inked up cardstock that didn't work for the project it had been started for.  The background, which I hope you can see, has been impressed with an alphabet texture plate from PTI.  I don't own any of these plates, but was kindly lent it by Chrissie of LIM fame, during the Happy Little Stampers retreat last year.  I added my favourite Mama Elephant sentiment.
My card was made for Less is More's Alphabet Challenge.  Hope you like it :)

NBUS #8

My friend the amazingly cool Darnell has a blogaversary and a wedding anniversary to celebrate and is also running the 8th NBUS challenge!   Much love and congratulations to Darnell and Hammy (oops sorry I mean Mister K) and if you haven't yet discovered her blog then you are in for a treat...

The optional challenge this week is coloured pencils on kraft.  I have to be honest, this isn't a new technique to me but as I love it I'm going to play along with it anyhow.  My NBUS are the stunning new Beautiful You stamps from SU and also the piece of twine wrapped in a kind of hairy extra, that I remembered I had and happend to match the bright brolly and coat.  It's a card for another crafty friend going through a sad time and I think the sunshine colour against the soft kraft is appropriate.

Ombre

I had a good idea what I wanted to make for this week's Less is More Challenge - unfortunately I wasn't happy with my earlier attempts at ombre feathers,  so here is my last minute entry.  My Distress Ink  gold feathers weren't ombre enough, I ddin't like the blue/green ones and when I overstamped with the feather image I liked them even less!

So the final efforts uses BG Copics blended.  The die is Clearly Besotted and I've added a Clarity sentiment.  The featheres have some blue embroidery thread tied around them as it was all looking a bit stark.  At last I am happy with my efforts :)

Happy Little Stampers CAS Design Team

Happy 2017 everyone!

I've had a long break from blogging while life has been busy.  However I'm longing to get back to my crafting table now and I'm delighted to say that the lovely Kylie has invited me to be part of the Happy Little Stampers CAS Design Team and here is my first card for them.

This month our challenge is to use a stencil and I've used a favourite Inky Doodles stencil, over a large die cut circle.  I've brushed a mixture of Distress Inks through the stencil and smooshed them onto my mat to die cut the sentiment.  I've stamped HLS Big Bold Numbers and added a few toning sequins.  Often the sequins are to cover up a mark, but this time I'm happy to say they are there because I wanted them :).